Match report: Penalty shoot-out

I. Our 5 goals at Norwich felt like it had all been a dream whilst watching this game as we appeared almost hesitant in attack, with none of the players seeming willing to take a chance. Our attempts at goal were sparse, with only Can and Henderson attempting long range shots (the attempts I love to hate) which did nothing to test Jack Butland during the first half. Arnautovic’s goal (his 10th goal this season) at 45’+1 was blatantly offside but put Stoke level in the tie (Aggregate 1-1). The start of the second half saw Firmino hit the posts, however, aside from a short-lived surge of energy, the opposition appeared the more determined team. After an additional 30 minutes the match ended with a win on paper for Stoke (LIV 0 – 1 STK) – their first victory at Anfield since 1959. Before Tuesday, Liverpool had never lost a League Cup semi-final leg at Anfield and Stoke had played Liverpool 7 times in the League Cup, losing 6 and drawing 1.

II. Joe Allen seems to be on his way to becoming our super sub, after clinching the equaliser against Arsenal at 90’ a few weeks ago when he came on for Can then in the 82nd minute. This time around he stepped up to take what would be the decisive penalty after Marco Muniesa’s attempt was saved by Mignolet. I reckon Joe Allen had better not entertain any plans to shave off that beard as we may very well see him live up to the ‘Welsh Pirlo’ moniker under the tutelage of Klopp. The return of Flanagan reminded us what we had been missing with his strong tackling, positioning and almost scoring the winner in the last 15 minutes of normal time.

III. Liverpool had their first penalty shootout 42 years ago – a 6-5 win against Leeds in the 1974 Charity shield and have now been involved in 17 of these nail biting, nerve-wracking match deciders. They continued their incredible penalty shootout record, with their 6-5 penalty shootout win (their 14th!) against Stoke. Mignolet saved the penalties of Crouch and Muniesa which allowed Joe Allen to take the decisive penalty and win it for Liverpool.